


Scenes of the Love of Death and an Elf Wizard

by zestycheck (breathingfire)



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Drabble Collection, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2018-12-06 09:56:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11598219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breathingfire/pseuds/zestycheck
Summary: A collection of complete scenes that I couldn't incorporate into a larger story or otherwise get to a reasonable enough length to post separately.Average length of ~500 words, mostly fluff, all Taakitz.





	1. Cuddle Time

**Author's Note:**

> What's up, this first one is post-canon, and just entirely fluff without a hint of plot *fingerguns*

Kravitz's arms were wrapped securely around him from behind, and there was no avoiding it: it's cuddle time. Taako had to at least pretend he didn't want to, to keep up his “I'm not a romantic” appearances. So he struggled weakly and let out a soft “nooooo”, which just made Kravitz hug him tighter and pretend to fall asleep, complete with fake snores. 

Taako smiled to himself about their little game. Taako pretended to hate the romantic shit, and Kravitz pretended to not find that completely adorable. Taako knew, however, that if he actually really didn't want to do something, Kravitz would back down immediately. The man was getting scarily good at picking up on Taako's boundaries without being told. He felt safe, which was, perhaps, a strange feeling for him in romantic relationships, but one that was refreshing.

Taako rolled over so he was facing Kravitz, who cracked open an eye and grinned. That was it, he couldn't stand it; Taako leaned in and kissed him, relishing in the sense of security and safety he felt in this moment. His heart thudded hard, and he whispered “I love you” like it was the first time he's ever said it, not like he's been actually saying it almost every night for four straight years now. 

Kravitz grinned again and whispered “I love you, too” back at him. Taako searched his eyes and he could tell, he meant it now as much as he did the first time. Taako brought their foreheads together. He mentally thanked Istus for this moment, and all the moments before it and all the moments after. 

“Thank you, Istus,” Taako muttered under his breath.

Kravitz was too close for that to go unnoticed. He grinned. “For what, exactly?”

Taako put on an exaggerated pout. “Can't a dude just pray to his goddess?”

Kravitz rolled his eyes. “You've never been the pious type, love. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen you pray except when you needed something.”

Taako raised his eyebrows. “Well maybe I'm changing my tune.” He couldn't keep a straight face and chuckled. “Anyway, I was thanking her for you. For letting me meet you.” He brought his hand up to cup Kravitz's cheek.

Kravitz's eyes went misty and his face flushed. With Taako so close, there was no way he could miss it. “Wow,” Kravitz whispered, “that's just… how do you put it? That's so gay.”

Hearing that from Kravitz's mouth just made Taako burst out laughing. Wiping a stray happy tear from his own eye, he leaned close again and whispered, “Love ya, ya giant nerd.” He leaned in and they kissed, gently.

“Love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have actually written fics where Taako responds with "that's gay" when Kravitz gets overly affectionate, but I don't think I've actually published any of them?? ha h a *sweats*


	2. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is actually the first thing I've ever written for TAZ, way back in April. I've made a couple changes since then but couldn't justify publishing it by itself.
> 
> The idea I had for this was "what if Taako had half-baked nightmares of the Hunger"
> 
> Takes place between ep 50 and the Suffering Game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING for nightmares, detailed but imagined character death.

The Grim Reaper didn't need to sleep, not anymore, and he tended to avoid it due to how groggy he became in the morning. But there was only so long you could stare at your lover's sleeping form before it began to feel creepy. And there was also something really sweet about trusting another with your unconscious body.

But that night he was jolted awake right past grogginess as he was awakened by a sharp pain.

"The fuck?" he growled, sitting upright while frantically trying to remember where the fuck he was. He laid eyes on Taako, thrashing wildly.

Taako had mentioned the night terrors before, but this was the first time Kravitz was actually confronted with them. “Taako! Taako, it's alright,” he whispered. It would be best if he didn't wake up the rest of the suite. He leaned closer to shake him awake; the blows from his boyfriend's hands and feet would've bruised him, if Kravitz had the capacity to bruise. “Wake up, it's just a dream!”

Suddenly, Taako gasped and shot up, running his hands over his chest as if to check for wounds. Upon confirming he was whole, he released the breath and held his head in his hands.

Kravitz leaned towards him, but before he could say anything, the elf wheezed out, “It was different.”

“I'm sorry?”

“It wasn't the usual nightmare. I don't think I've ever had this one before.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” Kravitz asked, voice tinged with worry.

To his surprise, Taako actually did begin to describe the dream. It was rushed and urgent, as if he wanted to get it all out as soon as he could.

“I was running from this… darkness. I was with someone else, almost pulling them along, as they shot fireball after fireball into it, which didn't seem to slow it down at all. Then the darkness shot out a… tendril, and stabbed the person in the back, and ripped them - her? - ripped her away from me, out of my hand, back towards the rest of the darkness. She screamed. I can still hear it.”

Taako paused for a moment, still staring unseeingly in front of him, and Kravitz reached out a hand to comfort him but stopped when his boyfriend abruptly continued. “I knew I couldn't do anything, though, so I just ran faster. I thought to cast Blink but I knew the Ethereal Plane wasn't safe either. I was about to do something - maybe morph myself into a bird to fly away - when I felt the darkness rip into my own chest, and I was flying backwards, and I woke up.

“I was so afraid, but also very upset. It felt like that person meant a lot to me. But I can't remember her face,” he whispered harshly, staring down at his hands. “It feels like there's something missing. A hole in my heart.” Big, fat tears rolled down his face. One landed on his open palm and he stared at it. “Why?” he whispered.

A moment passed in silence. “...You're here now, and you're alive, and that's what matters,” Kravitz whispered, rubbing small circles into the elf’s back. “I won't let anything happen to you.” After a moment, Taako crawled closer to him, still looking a little worried, but settled next to him nonetheless. 

“Thanks, babe. Love you,” he mumbled, and began a series of slow, lazy kisses, interrupted only by a long, drawn out yawn. “Man, training today was exhausting,” Taako mumbled, glancing at the clock on the bedside table. “Mmmm… why am I awake?”

Kravitz’s eyebrows knitted in worry. “You had a nightmare.”

“Did I? I don't remember it. Must've not been important,” Taako mumbled, settling himself in the crook of Kravitz's arm.

Kravitz grunted an affirmation, but spent the rest of the night thinking about what he just heard, and worrying about his boyfriend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some headcanon explanations: The voidfish powers don't work as well on the subconscious, so sometimes people dream of spotty, half-remembered things. The awake, conscious brain can only hold onto these dreams for so long, and they're immediately forgotten once the person is fully distracted. (So Taako _says_ "I've never had this dream before" but he's probably had it many, many times.) 
> 
> And of course Krav has no problem remembering the dream because he's dead.


	3. Touch Starvation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kravitz learns to cuddle. Taako falls asleep. The Raven Queen gets a little impatient.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so originally I made a post about "imagine how touch starved krav is" 
> 
> and then i couldnt stop thinking about it
> 
> which turned into this
> 
> enjoy

Kravitz didn't much think about the concept of cuddling, or physical affection in general, before he met Taako. There was a lot he never thought about before Taako.

The first time Taako snuggled up to him, Kravitz went stock still. It wasn't… bad, necessarily, he just didn't know what to  _ do. _ Taako was very warm, and kinda drunk, and more than happy to get touchy-feely in the privacy of his dorm. It was kind of overwhelming, if Kravitz was being honest with himself. Taako wasn't even doing anything more than lean on him, but the sensation, the weight, the warmth of a living body who wanted nothing more than to be close to him was… a lot, especially after centuries of nothing more than a few occasional affectionate pats from his goddess.

When Taako felt Kravitz stiffen up, though, he started to pull away. “Sorry, m’dude, I should've asked, I didn't even think -” 

Kravitz immediately mourned the loss. “No!” He exclaimed, a bit too loudly. Taako raised an eyebrow at him. Kravitz cleared his throat and continued, “I mean, uh. I like it. It's fine.”

Taako's eyebrows climbed into his hairline, but then he shrugged. “Alright m’dude. You gotta relax, though. Yer stiff as a board and it's not super comfy for ch’boy.” He poked the reaper’s chest for emphasis.

Relax. Right. He can do that. He… remembers how to do that. Right?

Kravitz leans a bit further back into the couch and attempts to mimic Taako’s general casual demeanor, even trying on one of Taako's signature lazy grins. Judging by Taako's sudden outburst of laughter, however, he could assume he missed the mark on that one.

“Close enough,” Taako relents between giggles, and snuggles back into Kravitz's side. After a second, though, he takes Kravitz's arm and wraps it around his shoulders, then settles back down.

They didn't say anything for a while, just enjoyed each other's presence. No matter how weird it was for him at first, Kravitz does have to admit that it feels… really good. The weight, the warmth, is good. He wondered vaguely if his skin temperature was a problem for Taako, but seeing as the elf was the one to initiate this whole thing, Kravitz could confidently push that thought out of his mind, at least for the moment.

All too soon, Kravitz felt the Raven Queen calling for him. He sighed a bit, and found himself  _ really _ not wanting to get up. 

“Taako,” he whispered, jostling the wizard’s shoulders a bit. When he looked down, Kravitz was surprised to find Taako passed out entirely, complete with a light snoring. Kravitz glanced out the window; the sky was completely dark, even though it felt like sunset was just a couple minutes ago. He never was good with keeping track of time.

But now he has a sleeping elf on him, and another tug on his soul from his Queen. He really had to go, but… he didn't just want to leave Taako on the couch, and he didn't want to wake him up, either. So Kravitz twisted a bit awkwardly, picked up the elf as smoothly as he could, and carried him into his bedroom, which was thankfully unlocked.

He placed Taako gingerly on the bed, and was faced with another dilemma. He didn't want to strip Taako to get him in some pajamas - after all, this was only their second date (and, well, the first date that Kravitz actually knew was a date ahead of time). At least Taako's shoes were kicked off as soon as they reached the threshold of the dorm; Taako liked wearing shoes with  _ a lot _ of straps, and Kravitz wasn't super confident he could even get them off. (Not that he was complaining. Taako looked  _ very _ good in them.)

So the fishnets and croptop may be uncomfortable to sleep in, but it was all Kravitz could do. He did, however, pull the bedsheet and blanket over him, and after a moment of hesitation, brushed his lips over Taako's temple. As Kravitz pulled away, Taako smiled in his sleep.

There was a sensation in his chest as he looked down at the sleeping Taako, one that was decidedly different from the now near constant tugs on his soul from his Queen. He didn't have time to think about that, however, as he stole one last glance at the elf before stepping through a rift in space and time.


	4. Murdered by Finals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> university au, under stress confession.  
> a prompt from japercico on tumblr

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess i'll put au shit here too. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

 

Kravitz groaned into his hands as he rested his forehead on his notes. Maybe some kind of knowledge osmosis would help. Gods help him, but he  _ had _ to do well on this final in order to -

_ Clik. Clik clik clik. _

“Taako,” Kravitz said, lifting his head. Taako also looked up from his notes. “Stop clicking your pen.”

Taako looked at the pen in his hand in surprise, as if he had no idea how it got there. “Sorry, my dude,” he said as he set it down on the table.

Kravitz sighed a bit and resignedly returned to his studies. Where was he? Oh yeah, reviewing notes from September. What did they even  _ learn _ back then? He was scribbling down dates of important events on flashcards while trying to memorize them -

_ Clik clik clik clik- _

Kravitz pinched the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes shut. “Taako…”

“Oh yeah, shit, sorry,” Taako replied as the clicking stopped. He sounded genuinely apologetic about it; at least he wasn't doing it on purpose, then. Kravitz's eyes scanned his notes and found where he left off. Hmm, that was probably important -

All of a sudden the table started shaking. Glancing up, he saw how Taako was practically  _ vibrating _ from how much his leg was shaking, and Kravitz wondered offhandedly just how many cups of coffee he'd had. At least this was better than the pen clicking.

Except… when he went back to reading his notes, he found he couldn't. The vibrating table was aggravating his already tired eyes and making the words all blur together.

“Taako,” Kravitz sighed, “I'm sorry, but could you stop shaking the table? I can't read when the words are vibrating.”

“Fuck, sorry,” Taako said, quelling his leg. He held his head by the temples and dug his fingers into his hair. He still seemed to radiate a restless energy.

“Maybe you should take a break?” Kravitz offered. “Go for a walk. Run for a bit, even. You look way too pent-up.”

Taako shook his head without letting go of it. “Can't. Final is in half an hour, gotta get as much info as possible into my shit brain. Gotta pass this class.”

There was nothing Kravitz could say to that - his final was also extremely soon, and you couldn't pry him away from his notes right now if you tried. So he buried his concerns and returned to his notes. Okay, chapter five -

_ Clikclikclikclik- _

This time, Kravitz didn't even look up. “Taako, I love you, but if you don't stop clicking your pen right this second I'm going to  _ fucking _ murder you.”

The pen immediately fell silent, and Kravitz hummed a note, pleased that his only-halfway-teasing threat had worked. He filled out a few more flashcards before he noticed that absolutely no noise was coming from the other side of the table, not even turning pages.

He glanced up. Taako was staring at him, wide-eyed.

“What?” Kravitz asked.

“What did you just say?”

“That I'm going to murder you if you don't stop clicking your pen?”

“No, before that.”

“That I…? Oh,” Kravitz replied. He felt his face grow hot.

“So it  _ wasn't _ a caffeine-induced hallucination.” The tips of his ears went bright red, and suddenly Taako started shoving everything into his bag. “Gottagobye,” he shouted as he rushed out the door. 

Kravitz glanced at his watch. There was still twenty-five minutes before Taako's exam.

Well, _ fuck.  _ His head hit the desk again with a thud.

**Author's Note:**

> Perhaps I'll pick one of these back up again and figure out how to flesh them out fuller, who knows. c:
> 
> feel free to follow my taz tumblr [@zestycheck](https://zestycheck.tumblr.com)


End file.
